COMPETING WITH IDIOTS
By Nick Davis
Knopf, August 24, 2021
A fascinating, complex dual biography of Hollywood's most dazzling--and famous--brothers, and a dark, riveting portrait of competition, love, and enmity that ultimately undid them both--one most famous for having written Citizen Kane (with Orson Welles, most recently portrayed in David Fincher's newly released Netflix film, Mank); the other, All About Eve; one, who only wrote screenplays but believed himself to be a serious playwright, slowly dying of alcoholism and disappointment; the other, a four-time Academy Award-winning director, auteur, sorcerer, and seducer of leading ladies, one of Hollywood's most literate and intelligent filmmakers.
In this large, moving portrait, meticulously woven together by the grandson of Herman, great-nephew of Joe, we see the lives of these two men--their dreams and desires, their fears and feuds, struggling to free themselves from their dark past; and the driving forces that kept them bound to a system they loved and hated.
About the Author
Nick Davis is a writer, director, and producer. He lives in New York City.